Notes / Commercial Description:
There's something about a warm summer day that calls out for a cold glass of great beer, and this classic Czech-style lager is sure to fit the bill. Crisp, golden and refreshing, Summerfest is the perfect choice for soaking up the sunshine. Summerfest is a Czech-style lager featuring a slight malt sweetness, a spicy hop flavor, and the crisp finish you want on a hot summer day.

User Reviews

Reviews by cdrogers:

4.2/5 rDev +14.1%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This is and would be a very good session beer. At 5% ABV it's not overwhelming and I could recommend it to anyone, even those that can't seem to crack away from the large-scale brewers. It's got a nice hay color, maybe a little more golden, and had a pretty good head poured from the 12 oz bottle around 40-45 degrees. To me it had a citrus aroma, more like a red grapefruit. First drink was slightly bitter, but overall very smooth. As I stated in the beginning the drinkability of this beer is exceptional and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting a good session brew.

More User Reviews:

4/5 rDev +8.7%look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Makes you wonder why the big breweries can't put out something resembling this. A great lager/Pils, refreshing and clean...I have a hard time sipping this. If you like adjuncts this should be your foray into craft. I actually prefer this over their Nooner Pils, which unfortunately is their year round offering, because this would almost always occupy space in my fridge.

I was really happy to discover this one, sad that it's only a seasonal but I suppose when it gets colder out I'll go back to stouts and heavier lagers... Overall, this is a great summer beer. To me it has that standard 'beer' taste, maybe to some that's a bad thing but for me, this is exactly what I look for in a warm-weather session beer. At 5.0 abv I can drink quite a few of these without feeling wasted, and sometimes that's the goal! I'm not sure what the exact word would be but this is a very 'plain' tasting beer in the best possible way. Will probably appeal to both craft aficianados and Anheuser Bush loyals. I definitely recommend this one as a summer session lager. Possibly the only downside is somewhat steep price given the ABV.

Poured into a pint glass. Clear, golden color with a small 1/2 a finger head that leaves no lacing. Sweet bready aroma with a little pepper at the end. Smooth citrus and bread flavor with a nice peppery hop kick at the end. Medium body and medium carbonation with no bitterness. Very crisp and refreshing beer. It tasted good while sitting out on the porch.
A good summer beer. Less hoppy than one would expect from Sierra Nevada.

Color quite pale straw yellow with a moderate white head. Nose reticent, typical mild lager profile. Taste is rather reticent as well - it is nicely balanced and refreshing, but surprisingly nondescript. I can't say that it gives me any reason to search it out again. I enjoy Czech pilseners, and love Saaz hops, but this one simply doesn't have the character of the best of the class. Bottle says "PKGD 04/18/16" and I drank it on 17 May, so freshness was not the problem.

A- Golden and translucent with almost 2 fingers of head, decent retention for the style and a little bit of lacing.

S- Very light and very characteristically pilsner. A little bit of bread or biscuit, very slightly floral and a hint of sweetness reminiscent of apple.

T- This is the taste I am hoping for any time I open a pilsner. After avoiding almost all lagers due to years of awful adjunct/macro experiences, my faith in the style is restored. This is an excellent combination of quality malts and (mostly) noble hops well-suited for a pilsner.

M-This beer is so light and crisp yet still retains excellent flavor. This is quite carbonated so if you're averse to such, you might want to look elsewhere.

D- This is exactly what I want in a pilsner and I could enjoy this in the sun all day. It goes down so easily and pairs excellently with so many foods that it would be great any time of year.

Given that my craft beer palette was shaped by the Pacific Northwest, I'm always going to favor aggressive hops (and most of Sierra Nevada's offerings fit the bill) but when I am in the mood for a Czech Pilsner, this will probably be my first choice. I wouldn't mind at all if they offered this year around and would certainly enjoy getting it once in a while throughout the year.

I fail to see how a beer brewed in California, U.S.A. can be called a Euro Pale Lager. Yeah, I know, if it fits the style... blah, blah, blah. But still, this beer deserves better. I therefore dub Summerfest a Yankee Pale Lager.

Pellucid bright amber with an impressively large, creamyfirm, French vanilla head that looks like it belongs on an IPA. The foam displays remarkable persistance and eventually lays down generous amounts of lace in vertical streamers.

The aroma is unmistakably of aromatic Saaz hops with very little else muddying the waters. I'm not a big fan of that particular hop, but it's actually somewhat pleasant here, both in the nose and on the palate. Its oftentimes sharp, pungent nature is blunted to some extent by a fair amount of sweetish pale malt.

A subtle clove and white pepper spiciness increases marginally with warming. I prefer more citrus in my summer beers, but I won't complain too loudly. The body is solidly medium, yet is still well within the bounds of easy drinkability demanded by the summer seasonal designation.

Summerfest is a pretty good Saaz-hopped pale lager, even if my lack of affinity for that particular hop variety keeps me from loving it. That said, this Yankee Pale Lager kicks the crap out of the vast majority of its Euro counterparts.

I don't know if it's just my preferences mutating, but this beer seems to get more solid every year. Very crisp and bright, well balanced with a nice bready sweetness, and complimented with a noble hop like profile. Very refreshing. Cheers!

This is what you always wanted back in the day when you'd pick up a Budweiser or Miller, but wished they had more flavor. Taste like a light German or Czech-style pilsner, crisp, refreshing with a nice level of carbonation, finishes cleanly. This is territory that American craft brewers need to explore and develop.

Appearance  Light yellow with a monster head that laced the glass quite nicely.

Smell  Typical hop aroma with a tinge of sweetness.

Taste  Americans seem to have great difficulty in producing the German pilsner style of ale, but this one nails it. The clean, slightly bitter, refreshing flavor of the neutral hops is lightly complimented by a touch of sweetness. The beer is dry and refreshing, which is just right for the summer.

Mouthfeel  Some nice carbonation and the traditional dryness make this one a stand out.

Drinkability  This went down just like it is supposed to: clean, crisp, and refreshing.

Comments  I have to part with the (current) 3.62 rating of by BA Buds (on average). This offering from SN nailed the style, IMO.

Pours a straw-yellow color with a silky white head; tame, yet vibrant, no apparent lacing left on the glass. Aroma is crisp with some grains in the background, playing secondary to a nice helping of bitter, earthy hops. Some lemon zest pulls through and plays tertiary as well. Lots of carbonation on the initial sip; this was to be expected - it gives a nice, clean, crisp taste on the palate and brings out the strength of the hops. The hops make up a good percentage of the taste here, but make no mistake - this beer is far from "bitter", even compared to pale ales. Malts and grains come through in around the edges, again followed by a lemon-orange-citrus like sweetness that shows up for a moment and washes away. Some clove and light spice shows up once the beer is significantly warmer, although this isn't typically a beer that takes too long to put down. Thin body, crisp, clean, dry finish.

I'm not extremely well versed in "Czech Pilseners", so I don't know how this differs from the American type, but it certain makes for a refreshing beer to drink on a hot summer day. Hits the spot after mowing the lawn in 95 degree heat for hours.